Gone Away
by SeveningTree
Summary: She keeps having dreams of this man. She doesn't remember who he is, but he was someone very important to her. And she doesn't know why her memory of him is gone. But he does. Stefan/Caroline to the very core.
1. Part 1

It's a bit odd for me to write this because I'm normally too caught up with Damon and Elena to care about the other characters on TVD. But lately I've been thinking about these two and felt like a story was due.

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**GONE AWAY**

**.**

****_"I know you. I know you better than anyone else."_

**.**

It felt like a dream. At least, she thought it was. Was it, or was it? She didn't quite understand. There was quick motion, a blur. She was falling before she knew it. Falling very far; too far and too deep to describe. She was running in sync with someone else after that. How could she run when she just fell? It didn't make sense.

Then she saw the vision of a man. There was a handsome man, standing in the middle of a clearing in the forest, waiting.

He was quite a vision indeed. Tousled brown locks, a firm, proportionate figure. But she couldn't see his eyes. His lips were curled in a smile too genuinely sweet to be thought of as foreign to her. He wasn't foreign, he was known – at least, to her. But then she had never seen him.

How could she know someone she had never seen before?

She was a human, not some witch. She lived in a normal world, one without supernatural beings. She was no longer bound to any immortal self. She was back to mortality, like all her friends around her. It was a stretch, but when she awoke back as Caroline Forbes the human girl, she didn't remember a thing that happened in the past five years. The memories she had were just of her childhood. There was a missing link, but somehow that empty void was filled with just things which were almost artificial – thoughts of having Tyler Lockwood once as her boyfriend, Matt Donovan as her best male friend. She remembered Elena Gilbert, because they were good friends once, as was Bonnie Bennett, her other good friend.

She didn't remember anyone else. She recalled briefly someone named Damon, but all she knew was that he was a hot guy who tried to hit on her, succeeded for a brief period of time, then forgot about her. She couldn't remember his last name. There was someone related to him who was very important to her, but for the life of her, he couldn't surface clearly in her mind.

But he always appeared in her dreams. Like that one.

Dashing, prince charming. He was someone similar to a prince in her mind. She couldn't put her finger on why she forgot just this one man. She supposedly loved Tyler with all her heart, at least before they decided to mutually part ways. She still loved him to some extent, but not with that passion. It died away. But then she was recalling a person in her life whom she maybe, just maybe, could have always loved, from the very start.

Sometimes he wouldn't just be standing in the forest clearing, waiting. He would walk towards her, and hold out his hand. He would wave her over, but she would not be able to go any closer. She longed to see his eyes, because she knew that once she did, she would know who he was.

Why did he disappear from her life? She somehow felt that the only thing she was sure of him, was that he was someone very important to her. She never acknowledged it in the past, but he was more important than most people. He was family. He was home, even.

But she didn't know anything other than that. She didn't know why he would erase her memory of him. He did, however.

Because Stefan Salvatore knew. He couldn't outrun his past, because it would catch up to him. So he planned, secretly, to make her forget him. He told only one person of his plan – Katherine Pierce.

Funny, how that happened. After all, that devious woman was the only one who knew history enough to find him a solution to his problems. She knew far more than he still did, because of all the years she had on him, but that was it. She would remain as distant as a wall which separated two rooms. He would not allow her to be more than a business accomplice, much to her chagrin. It was difficult for her, but she would do anything for him, if she was honest with herself. So it was that she helped him. And it worked, but it went wrong.

Somehow, Mystic Falls was no longer a town crawling with abnormal creatures. Everyone was cured of having any unusual power or ability or being. They all became humans, even Damon. And they all didn't mind.

It was some sick dream, at least to Stefan. How could he remain in his immortal body when everyone else was so happily human? He screamed at Katherine, aghast at her mistake, though he knew this was her plan all along.

"You wanted me to cure your little Caroline. Well, it couldn't be just on her. It had to be everyone in town."

"You-!" he wanted to hit her, punch her, do something. But he couldn't vent. Not when this had solved his problem.

It was the worst decision he ever made. He lived everyday in regret and sorrow. He wondered why he ever asked Katherine to help him to erase Caroline's memories of him. He should have been more of a man. But he couldn't stand it. He realised something bigger than anything he'd ever experienced which shocked him to his core.

He loved Caroline Forbes.

More than he loved Elena Gilbert.

More than he thought he loved Elena Gilbert.

All that time, all that time.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years – what did it tell him? That from the very start of his relationship with Caroline, he may have dismissed her, but he could not shake her.

And even more so when she became just like him. Their relationship was so pure, so true. How could he have seen her in that way? No, he didn't see in that way just yet. But he had loved her.

And then one day came when he realised that he loved her with a great passion. It was when Elena was fanning over his brother. He kept turning to one person – Caroline. It was her who could understand him and care for him beyond belief. She allowed him to be close, closer than anyone else in her proximity. Klaus Mikaelson stood no chance. Tyler Lockwood was gone with the wind, deciding to be with some other girl. She was left alone, just like him.

It was Stefan who did the impossible and kissed her right on the lips one midnight when they were sitting on the rooftop of her house. She looked at him, surprised and enchanted at the same time. Her blond curls glistened in the moonlight and her chestnut eyes bored into his dark, grey ones, and he felt as though he was home, for the first time in his life. It was as though he was free.

They stared intently into each other's gaze for several electric seconds, and Stefan couldn't stand it. He pulled her in for the second time, and when he did, she melted into him like butter in the sun. He held her as close as he could and grasped her desperately, as though the repercussions of his actions were sinking deeper into his conscience by the minute. She touched his face, traced the edge of his jaw, and kissed him sweeter than he ever imagined possible. There were millions of stars in the sky all around them, and it was magic.

It was magic, even for someone like him who had seen so much and done even more. It was the most magical night of his life. When he pulled away after minutes of almost eternal bliss with her in his arms, he smiled at her, and was rendered speechless when she smiled back.

"I—"

"You don't have to say anything," he stopped her. "Can we just keep this between us? And let me remember you this way."

She blushed, but the Caroline in her snapped awake and she held his hand, squeezing it. "You know I can't do this. Not when I've always said that Elena is your soulmate."

He nodded, and looked ahead at the sky beyond the houses in front of them. "I know."

Somehow, his memory of her was left as is. He checked on her sometimes, hoping that she was as happy as she looked on the outside. All his other friends were fine, as was his brother. It didn't matter that he was different and away from them. He could deal with that. But that he was away from her, was the difficult part.

He was so tempted to reveal himself to her again. But that would render everything he had done useless. And how much more stupid could he get?

He tried to focus on the positives every day, but the optimism would only last for so long. Maybe, he thought, one day.

One thing he didn't know about her was that she thought of this missing man in her life every day. She didn't ask any of her friends about him because she was afraid she would discover something horrifying.

Stefan Salvatore and Caroline Forbes were once destined to be eternally together.

He didn't know that, and neither did she. But would they ever find their way back?

Only one can hope.

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A/N: I'm not sure how far I can go with this story – it will probably just be what it is now – a brief one-shot. But we'll see how it goes. Reviews, please?


	2. Part 2

Maybe this could be a three-shot. (hopefully, since I probably can't end this story like this) For three of you who reviewed – elidear, BDSC4eva, Lazydreamer99 – thank you so much. This is for you.

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**GONE AWAY**

**Part 2**

**.**

_"You have no idea how much I've missed you."_

**.**

It had been nearly two years. He had roamed around the world, returned, roamed around again, returned, and roamed around yet again. He found himself going back to Mystic Falls over and over again. It was as though he could never tear himself away from the girl he knew he truly loved – she really was the one for him. And he would never let himself forget how stupid he was over the years for being in denial, for choosing to run away from his problems, and for being as weak as he feared he was. He could still hear Damon's voice in his head: "Brother, once in a while we all need to fight. To stand strong! Not everything's about negotiation and backing down. You give in too easily, Stefan."

And so it rang true, in his mind, like a broken record. Stefan didn't know what to do. He contemplated showing himself to her more than a million times. But every time he thought about it, he could never bring himself to do it. What would he do? What would he say? How could he tell her that he erased her memory of him? How could he speak of the thousands of things he had done wrong, even to her? What right did he have to want a place in her life again?

So he brooded, and he worried. He didn't know how to stop. All he knew was the one thought that kept him sane – Caroline Forbes was alive, and she was happy. As long as he could see her happy, that would be enough, at least, to keep him in balance. That was, until the day he found out that she was getting married.

Caroline had never forgotten about the "missing man" in her life. She continued having dreams about him, mystical, fantasy-like dreams. For almost two years, she could still not figure out who he was. She had found out his name – Stefan, apparently, according to Damon; but that still didn't trigger anything. Who was this Stefan? Her friends couldn't tell her much more. They just said that he was Damon's brother, a good friend to some, and a person who disappeared from Mystic Falls one day some years ago. They didn't know much about him, just that he existed. They couldn't describe much of his appearance either – he had a lean figure and brown hair. There was nothing specific that she could discover. There were times that she went crazy trying to figure out who he was. He dominated her thoughts so often sometimes that she believed she was going mad.

So she pushed away her lingering thoughts of this man and went on living as normally as she possibly could. She found a respectable guy named Oliver who earned a successful living as a lawyer. After a year of dating, he proposed to her and she accepted, agreeing to move to Atlanta with him. Her friends freaked out, of course, especially Elena and Bonnie – but they could see how secure and content she was with Oliver. They didn't want to see her go, especially if marrying Oliver meant that she had to move out of town. But she had been clear about her intentions, and she promised that she would return at least once every year to visit them. Fortunately the wedding planning would take some time, especially because Oliver needed to return to Atlanta for two months to finish working on an important case, so that meant she had another year with all her family and friends before she had to leave Mystic Falls permanently.

It was a month before the actual wedding date that Stefan found out. He had been travelling again before he gave in to checking on Caroline again. He overheard a conversation between Damon and Elena when they were walking towards the Grill, bantering about Caroline's upcoming wedding. Elena was the bridesmaid, and Damon was sighing at how much he had to do to help Elena with the preparations she had undertaken for the wedding decorations.

When Stefan heard about it, he just felt his heart drop. Really, he didn't know what to think or what to feel; his entire body went numb after a few seconds of the revelation sinking into him.

Caroline Forbes was getting married.

And then the consequent thought followed.

_Do you love her? Do you __**really **__love her?_

What did it matter? Was this really the time to show what a stupid person he was?

_If you love her, fight for her. The same way Damon fought for Elena, the same way Alaric fought for Jenna, the same way your friends fought for you when you were lost – fight for what she deserves. You don't have anything to lose any longer, do you? You're all alone. Your loss is nothing if she chooses not to accept you. Your gain, on the other hand, is her._

So with renewed vigour, Stefan arrived at her front door. He made sure her mother, Sheriff Forbes, was kept busy at the Sheriff's office in town. Checking that she was home and that there was no one else around, he rang her doorbell. It was the simplest of actions, but nerves were coursing through his veins and his heart was beating faster than he ever felt in his entire life. He felt like a teenage boy with a huge crush, except that he wasn't a teenage boy, and this wasn't just a crush. He was a grown man, facing the woman he loved.

Footsteps approached the door, and he could already hear her breathing. Her hand was on the doorknob. He had exactly 2.37 seconds to zoom away with speed if he chose to run away and not be rooted to the spot, waiting to see her expression, her face, her eyes, her figure –

When she swung the door open, everything moved as though it was in slow motion.

Stefan's eyes moved swiftly onto Caroline's face, and a desperate cry too soft to be heard escaped his lips. It was really her. After all this time, there she was, standing in front of him. He used to be so overly selfless, too much of a pushover. No, for once, he was going to be upfront and bold.

Caroline's gaze arrived first on Stefan's feet. As she stepped outside, her vision swept upward, taking in his denim jeans, his long-sleeved sweater – until finally, she looked into his grey eyes.

The connection was instantaneous.

She was transfixed, and so was he. She was so taken aback at all the memories and thoughts flooding her mind all at once, that she nearly fainted.

All her thoughts made sense now, all her dreams replaying themselves in her mind, showing him as her prince. The eyes she wanted so desperately to see were right here, in front of her. It was him. It had always been him.

"Stefan," she stammered, unable to believe what she was seeing. "Stefan Salvatore."

"Caroline—" he began.

"You… y-you are the one I've been dreaming about all this time," she uttered, her breaths coming up short. "You erased my memory!"

"I can expla—" he tried.

She was coming on strong now, and she was getting furious. "You made me forget about you! You made me forget about so many things in my past! You erased all my thoughts about you! And all this time, Stefan! ALL THIS TIME!"

She looked back at him, tears forming in her eyes. "I was trying so hard so often to figure out who it was I couldn't remember. I knew one thing – that I loved him, somehow, but I didn't know why or how. Why, Stefan? Why? And why did you decide to reveal yourself to me now?"

"I-I'm sorry," he pleaded, his eyes turning red at the edges. He didn't want to cry, not in front of her, not now; but it was too much. He knew he couldn't have won her back. He didn't deserve her; how could he? But he reached out and grabbed her hand, and she turned to stare at him, daring him to cross any more boundaries than those he had already crossed.

She shook her head in disbelief, looking away in aghast. "Get away from me," she let out, her composure dropping with each word she said.

"Caroline," he stopped her, tears falling from his eyes.

"I said get away from me," she repeated, still refusing to look at him. "Let me go."

"I love you, Caroline," he blurted out, and then she turned to him, her eyes shimmering with the tears she held back. She missed him so much, this man who was gone from her life, the one she tried so hard to find and to remember; but she was so angry with him.

She didn't know what to say for a few moments. He just held on to her hand, and her body was turned away from him, but she returned his gaze, and for a few moments he saw how much pain he had brought upon her. How much she had truly searched for answers about who he was.

And how much she loved him in return, even before he erased all her memories of him.

"I'm so sorry," he said again, firmly and resolutely. "I know I've wronged you so much. I was stupid and cowardly. I should have stayed and never let you go."

She was silent, but he could see she wasn't convinced. "I know I don't deserve anything. Not after what I've done. But I won't deny that I want you. I want to be with you, and I want to be back in your life."

"So don't get married. Don't marry him."

He was looking at her through his own tears and his own regret and sorrow. She could see it, and she could see how stupid he had been. But he was repentant, and she could also see that. She didn't know what to do. He had a lot to make up for, and she couldn't just accept what he'd done.

"Stefan," she said softly, her anger fading. "As much as I'm glad that I finally know what has happened these past two years, I can't accept your apology. Not after everything. I'm getting married, and that's it."

She pushed his hand away, closed the door on him and didn't look back. He stared after her, and then at the closed door, for several long minutes. He then ran off into the woods, not knowing that after she shut the door, she spent the rest of the night crying, trying to figure out the feelings that were still inside her aching heart.

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A/N: And, there we go. It had to be this way for now. Reviews, please?


	3. Part 3

So… I promised a three-parter, so here it is, the final third chapter. Thank you so much for your lovely reviews: brucasbrathan, BDSC4eva, LaLaALa521, Lazydreamer99, Team Damon Mom, steroline 3. Hope this is a satisfying ending.

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**GONE AWAY**

**Part 3**

**.**

_"We are meant to be. Forever, always."_

**.**

She was a human, but when she glanced at the clock on her bedside table exactly three nights after facing the man who haunted her dreams, it was as though she could hear every tick and tock as loud as a gong in her ears. Time had passed far slower than she would have wanted – though the pain and anger inside her had dissipated somehow. She locked herself indoors, refusing to go out and not wanting to see any of her friends, knowing that they would ask what's wrong with her. She didn't want to answer any questions or sit under any interrogations from them. With that, she knew she made a choice to, instead, sit by herself until she dealt with the feelings inside her heart.

When Stefan Salvatore appeared on her doorstep, and the memories flooded her mind like thousands in a second, it wasn't so much that she was mad that she had spent nearly two years trying to figure out who it was that she could not seem to remember. It wasn't about that at all. Sure, she burst out at him about it, but inside the core of her, that wasn't the reason why she got so upset. It was because he left her behind and actually made a choice to erase himself from _her _life. Why would he ever do that? Didn't he know that she was so angry because she never wanted him gone? That truly, the impact he had on her was so great that she was clouded with fantasies of a handsome man from her hidden past?

Caroline Forbes was so angry because all the surfaced memories pointed her to one conclusion – her life was not complete without that man, and that 'missing man' whom she loved so much was and is Stefan Salvatore.

Is, because he was here. He was around. He wasn't just a memory anymore, he was real, true, in the present. And she couldn't believe he had the audacity to say that he loved her in the midst of all the errors and mistakes he had made. It was such a ridiculous thing to say because she knew he knew that she wouldn't throw herself at him, no matter even if she realised that she loved him.

How could she not remember, when the thoughts pieced themselves together into a perfect picture of them?

She punched at her pillow for the millionth time in those three days. It felt like an eternity of thinking about what to do and where she should go from there. She wasn't confused anymore, and in fact she could not deny that she knew with full confidence exactly what she had to do. But she was so full of stubbornness that she was trying to fight that voice in her head, telling her…

_Tell him. Of course he was wrong, but are you willing to forsake him just because of your pride? Sure, he deserves some sort of punishment for what he did to you, but he'll be gone again if you don't say anything. And don't forget you're already about to be married._

Her wedding. Oliver. She didn't quite know what to say to him about this. What, that some guy from her dreams appeared in the flesh and she realised she loved him? How ludicrous. She was about to change her mind yet again and pretend that nothing ever happened, that she never saw Stefan, until she glanced at a bright orange leaf that flew from the outside air onto her window sill.

She took it and examined it, letting herself procrastinate. Seeing the leaf reminded her of one occasion, probably very close to the time before he erased all her knowledge of him.

They were walking at the edge of the woods, and it was autumn. The leaves were in all sorts of beautiful colours of red, orange, green, yellow and brown. She remembered gleefully kicking piles of fallen leaves and throwing some of them at Stefan. She recalled looking into his eyes and realising how much she loved him and that she would never want to live without him in her life. His eyes twinkled with such life and such joy, such as she had never seen before. In those moments, he had never felt so alive. He was spending time with a girl who was his best friend, but had become something more, though he hadn't told her that. They were just catching up as friends, but at some point while they were playing around, Caroline attempted to push Stefan into a huge pile of leaves. He ended up pushing her down, and they rolled down the hill together until he ended up on top of her. Their noses were touching, and their lips were barely two inches apart. She was staring at him, breaths coming up short, and he was immovable, unable to tear himself away from being in such a close proximity to her.

After several seconds, he rolled off her and they laughed awkwardly for a few more seconds after that. She didn't know why, but he picked up an orange leaf of an unusually bright colour, and knelt down in front of her, as though he was proposing. She giggled at his behaviour, and she couldn't recall what she said exactly, but the words he said to her in that moment were as clear as crystal.

"_Caroline Forbes, thank you for being the best female friend a man could ask for. Promise me, that no matter what kind of stupid things I do, you will be there to slap me and pull me up again, especially if it is something stupid I do to you."_

She sighed at the memory, unable to believe that she would have said yes to making that promise to him. But she knew she did, and she gritted her teeth in frustration. Finally, she stood up, banging the window sill with her fist.

"Alright. Get ready to be slapped, Salvatore."

It was nearly dawn when she arrived at the edge of the woods were they spent most of their time together all that time ago. It was still slightly dark, but the rising sun was shining rays of light enough for her to step around the trees to find him. She knew he would be here – there was really no place else she could think of.

Eventually, at the top of the hill, there he sat, probably deep in thought. She approached from behind, and stopped just short of a few feet away from him. He heard someone and turned around to see her, genuinely surprised.

"Caroline? What are you—"

Before he could get any other words out, she slapped his face with a large ounce of her strength. His face turned sideways, shock now emanating from him.

_Okay. I did not expect that, but I definitely deserved it._

"I hope you realise I'm keeping my promise by doing this. It's the hardest I've ever had to slap someone."

He rubbed his cheek and knew it would turn red very soon. He looked at her and saw that she wore a serious expression, but one of a Caroline whom he knew was his best friend. "Yes, I remember. I deserved that… and more."

She looked at him, expression unchanging. She was kneeling in front of him, deciding what to say.

"You know, Stefan, the reason why I was angry wasn't because you erased my memory. Sure, that was a horrible breach and a big mistake, but that's not what really made me upset. It's because you thought I could be happy with a life without you in it."

He looked down, crestfallen, then turned his gaze back at her.

"And it's true. I tried to be happy, and I was for some time, but it was never complete. My life was not complete, that's why I kept trying to figure out who was missing from it."

"Caroline, I—"

"Just let me finish this, okay?" she said, heaving out another sigh. "I tried so hard to reason with everything I've been feeling and thinking about these past few days, but I realised I can't fight the truth."

He looked at her, expectant. He allowed himself to be hopeful, if even for just those few minutes.

"And the truth is, Stefan," she continued, meeting his eyes. "My life isn't complete without you."

A small smile formed on her lips, and he returned it, feeling relief and joy in his heart.

"So, I forgive you for being the biggest idiot ever. But you have a lot of making up to do for it… especially since now I have to call my wedding off."

His eyes widened at that, unable to believe that it was her decision.

"Y-You're calling your wedding off?" he repeated, stumbling on his words.

"Yes, I am," she confirmed. "I'm giving you a second chance."

A full-blown smile graced his expression this time, and he moved directly in front of her to caress her face.

She closed her eyes at his touch, and lost herself in his gaze. He couldn't believe she was here, with him, and that he was touching her face again.

"I promise I won't leave you, ever again," Stefan said to Caroline, his voice husky. "I will make it up to you."

She smiled and let out a little laugh, knowing with complete certainty that being there, in that new, beautiful moment, with him, was right.

"Can we, perhaps, start by being friends again?" he asked, putting his hand forward.

She grinned, impressed by his resolve to make things up to her slowly, one bit at a time. She shook his hand firmly and tightly, knowing that in the long run, she would never want to let go.

"Yes," she replied. "We'll start with that."

Three years later, Stefan and Caroline Salvatore sailed on a yacht across the bay on their honeymoon at the Bahamas, admiring the sunset. He was steering the wheel, and she stood behind him, her arms held securely around his neck. Occasionally she would tickle him and he would tickle her back, even managing to push her into the water once or twice. He would jump in after her, of course, and they would spend their time in the clear blue waters in each other's arms, their lips locked.

For both of them, it's almost like a dream. He is her prince, and all her dreams are now reality, full of him and their happiness. She is everything he ever wanted, more than anything he could have imagined possible.

Stefan Salvatore and Caroline Forbes ended up happily together.

This time, they knew. It was destiny.

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A/N: The end! That's it, thank you so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed this. Please review.


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